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    Revealing the Meissner Corpuscles in Human Glabrous Skin Using In Vivo Non-Invasive Imaging Techniques
    (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International, 2023) Infante, Victor Hugo Pacagnelli; Bennewitz, Roland; Klein, Anna Lena; Meinke, Martina C.
    The presence of mechanoreceptors in glabrous skin allows humans to discriminate textures by touch. The amount and distribution of these receptors defines our tactile sensitivity and can be affected by diseases such as diabetes, HIV-related pathologies, and hereditary neuropathies. The quantification of mechanoreceptors as clinical markers by biopsy is an invasive method of diagnosis. We report the localization and quantification of Meissner corpuscles in glabrous skin using in vivo, non-invasive optical microscopy techniques. Our approach is supported by the discovery of epidermal protrusions which are co-localized with Meissner corpuscles. Index fingers, small fingers, and tenar palm regions of ten participants were imaged by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and laser scan microscopy (LSM) to determine the thickness of the stratum corneum and epidermis and to count the Meissner corpuscles. We discovered that regions containing Meissner corpuscles could be easily identified by LSM with an enhanced optical reflectance above the corpuscles, caused by a protrusion of the strongly reflecting epidermis into the stratum corneum with its weak reflectance. We suggest that this local morphology above Meissner corpuscles has a function in tactile perception.
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    Looking for a perfect match: multimodal combinations of Raman spectroscopy for biomedical applications
    (Bellingham, Wash. : SPIE, 2021) Schie, Iwan; Stiebing, Clara; Popp, Jürgen
    Raman spectroscopy has shown very promising results in medical diagnostics by providing label-free and highly specific molecular information of pathological tissue ex vivo and in vivo. Nevertheless, the high specificity of Raman spectroscopy comes at a price, i.e., low acquisition rate, no direct access to depth information, and limited sampling areas. However, a similar case regarding advantages and disadvantages can also be made for other highly regarded optical modalities, such as optical coherence tomography, autofluorescence imaging and fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime microscopy, second-harmonic generation, and others. While in these modalities the acquisition speed is significantly higher, they have no or only limited molecular specificity and are only sensitive to a small group of molecules. It can be safely stated that a single modality provides only a limited view on a specific aspect of a biological specimen and cannot assess the entire complexity of a sample. To solve this issue, multimodal optical systems, which combine different optical modalities tailored to a particular need, become more and more common in translational research and will be indispensable diagnostic tools in clinical pathology in the near future. These systems can assess different and partially complementary aspects of a sample and provide a distinct set of independent biomarkers. Here, we want to give an overview on the development of multimodal systems that use RS in combination with other optical modalities to improve the diagnostic performance.
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    Application of optical coherence tomography for in vivo monitoring of the meningeal lymphatic vessels during opening of blood–brain barrier: mechanisms of brain clearing
    (Bellingham, Wash. : SPIE, 2017) Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, Oxana; Abdurashitov, Arkady; Dubrovsky, Alexander; Bragin, Denis; Bragina, Olga; Shushunova, Natalia; Maslyakova, Galina; Navolokin, Nikita; Bucharskaya, Alla; Tuchind, Valery; Kurths, Jürgen; Shirokov, Alexander
    The meningeal lymphatic vessels were discovered 2 years ago as the drainage system involved in the mechanisms underlying the clearance of waste products from the brain. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a gatekeeper that strongly controls the movement of different molecules from the blood into the brain. We know the scenarios during the opening of the BBB, but there is extremely limited information on how the brain clears the substances that cross the BBB. Here, using the model of sound-induced opening of the BBB, we clearly show how the brain clears dextran after it crosses the BBB via the meningeal lymphatic vessels. We first demonstrate successful application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for imaging of the lymphatic vessels in the meninges after opening of the BBB, which might be a new useful strategy for noninvasive analysis of lymphatic drainage in daily clinical practice. Also, we give information about the depth and size of the meningeal lymphatic vessels in mice. These new fundamental data with the applied focus on the OCT shed light on the mechanisms of brain clearance and the role of lymphatic drainage in these processes that could serve as an informative platform for a development of therapy and diagnostics of diseases associated with injuries of the BBB such as stroke, brain trauma, glioma, depression, or Alzheimer disease.